Lures Under Pressure (depth)

[fishnut7]

I am currently making some lures for Lake Trout which I often fish 100+ft off the downriggers. I have caught several lakers on various different lures and have realized that they wear/peal/crack much quicker when exposed to the depths of the lakes. Any suggestions on what topcoat and material would handle deep water pressue the best?    My Plan-Make plugs out of PVC, use large screw eyes for tow and hook ties, paint, and finish with an epoxy (Dev).....my worry is the epoxy will crack and peel due to being hard/brittle

 

 

[BobP]

I think making the lures out of PVC will avoid most of the problems you might have with wood.  Epoxy is as tough as any topcoat but it suffers from the same problem as all others - the lure's finish is just like a shell.  Any topcoat will fail if the underlying lure body is significantly compressed and then expanded.  PVC is naturally waterproof and assuming that PVC would compress and expand less than most woods, it would help to avoid that problem.

[bobv]

Dick Nite is really flexible after curing, it would probably be a good choice.

[fishnut7]

Great feedback....I will try Dicknite on these...thanks

Great feedback....I will try Dicknite on these...thanks

[woodieb8]

hi we have done lots of salmon stuff for l. ontario. the best is plastics or metal. woods shrink expand due to water temp variances.we always use automotive clear coats on plastics and metal spoons..you are dead on though. fishing from top to bottom can vary 40 degrees..